# Good company for renter's insurance? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 15, 2007, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-company-for-renters-insurance/396063 "2007-03-15T18:25:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Shroud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@The\_Shroud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Shroud)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2007, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-company-for-renters-insurance/396063/1 "2007-03-15T18:25:08Z")
It just occurred to me that I’d be pretty screwed if my stuff decided to get up and leave. In particular, my computer and video equipment would be fairly expensive to replace. So can anybody recommend a good company for renter’s insurance? To me, “good” mostly means I can pay online, or have it automatically deducted from my checking account. A good cost/coverage ratio is appreciated, too. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2007, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-company-for-renters-insurance/396063/2 "2007-03-15T18:34:46Z")
Who insures your auto? Do you have a car? Geico for instance has renters insurance. [See here.](http://www.geico.com/home/renters/) It’s reletively cheap if I remember correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2007, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-company-for-renters-insurance/396063/3 "2007-03-15T18:42:44Z")
I just called my brother in Florida, who has rental insurance, he pays $22 a month. He has 30k insured in his home. Thats jewelery, Bike, Computer system, sound system misc. Thats with Gieco. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2007, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-company-for-renters-insurance/396063/4 "2007-03-15T19:06:34Z")
Many policies also contain sub-limits for certain items. I’m especially thinking of your camera & video equipment. Discuss this with your broker, and they can advise you if you need to schedule them on your policy. ---
**Author:** ![qubed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f07891/32.png) [@qubed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qubed)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2007, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-company-for-renters-insurance/396063/5 "2007-03-15T19:19:54Z")
Renter’s insurance in quite cheap, at usually \<$300/year for $30,000 in coverage. If the matter of $20-30 is not significant to you, then pick an insurer you already work with for a matter of convenience. You might even get a multi-line discount with is even more savings. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2007, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-company-for-renters-insurance/396063/6 "2007-03-15T20:26:55Z")
Yes, I pay \<$200 for $20K in coverage and it gets me a discount on auto insurance. It’s through Nationwide and you can pay on-line. ---
**Author:** ![TKisling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/919ad9/32.png) [@TKisling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TKisling)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2013, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-company-for-renters-insurance/396063/7 "2013-07-15T04:25:26Z")
My girlfriend and I moved in together into an old apartment building in Brooklyn and thought we should get renters insurance. We put the word out on Facebook and asked around and decided to go with State Farm. The policy we got was $180 per year, which was about what most of them were. I am a musician and I have a small music production room. Last week there was an issue with rain water build up on the roof and my girlfriend woke me up really upset. Water had filled up the ceiling of my music studio during the night and then burst through making a hole and blowing the light fixture out of the ceiling shattering it along with lots of nasty dirty water, debris and plaster all over my studio, my computer, instruments and music equipment was all messed up. The only comfort I had was as I went through all my destroyed stuff was that it was covered by my renters insurance. After a long time on the phone, State Farm said it was not covered. They said that whoever fixed the roof improperly was liable and I would have to go after them. Like a good neighbor State Farm was there. I am in this weird state of shock and disbelief. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2013, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-company-for-renters-insurance/396063/8 "2013-07-15T04:43:15Z")
Does it cover zombie attack? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2013, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-company-for-renters-insurance/396063/9 "2013-07-15T17:13:16Z")
Wow. I live in Iowa and have my renter’s insurance through State Farm. Their minimum, which I have, is $100 a year for $40,000 in replacement coverage. ---
**Author:** ![nion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nion)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-company-for-renters-insurance/396063/10 "2013-07-16T03:57:11Z")
> [@TKisling](#): > > My girlfriend and I moved in together into an old apartment building in Brooklyn and thought we should get renters insurance. We put the word out on Facebook and asked around and decided to go with State Farm. > The policy we got was $180 per year, which was about what most of them were. > I am a musician and I have a small music production room. Last week there was an issue with rain water build up on the roof and my girlfriend woke me up really upset. Water had filled up the ceiling of my music studio during the night and then burst through making a hole and blowing the light fixture out of the ceiling shattering it along with lots of nasty dirty water, debris and plaster all over my studio, my computer, instruments and music equipment was all messed up. The only comfort I had was as I went through all my destroyed stuff was that it was covered by my renters insurance. After a long time on the phone, State Farm said it was not covered. They said that whoever fixed the roof improperly was liable and I would have to go after them. > Like a good neighbor State Farm was there. I am in this weird state of shock and disbelief. My understanding is flooding is practically never covered by insurance. You have to specifically buy flood insurance for that. ---
**Author:** ![Sandra\_Battye](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sandra_battye/32/552_2.png) [@Sandra\_Battye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sandra_Battye)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-company-for-renters-insurance/396063/11 "2013-07-16T05:13:24Z")
And you need commercial insurance if you are using the music studio for commercial purposes. Did your insurer know how you were using your space? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-company-for-renters-insurance/396063/12 "2013-07-16T10:07:53Z")
If you insure your renter’s insurance through Geico, you’re actually being covered through another carrier (see link at the bottom of their page). You might as well go directly to one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-company-for-renters-insurance/396063/13 "2013-07-16T13:25:53Z")
In answer to the OP, I think I had USAA many years ago. Never put it to the test, thankfully, but USAA is one of the very few companies I implicitly trust. Probably naive of me, but there you go. ---
**Author:** ![LibrarySpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@LibrarySpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LibrarySpy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-company-for-renters-insurance/396063/14 "2013-07-16T14:37:50Z")
I went through Allstate, because they did my car. $100/year for $20K/coverage. It was the lowest policy they had, because I only wanted my computer covered. I also got a discount for having two policies under one account, so that’s something worth looking into. ---
**Author:** ![DivineComedienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c67d28/32.png) [@DivineComedienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DivineComedienne)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-company-for-renters-insurance/396063/15 "2013-07-17T18:25:25Z")
I got renter’s insurance through NJM, who does my car insurance. I think I pay around $140/year, but I’m not sure if I saved money because I have both renter/auto. I’m in NJ. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-company-for-renters-insurance/396063/16 "2013-07-17T20:28:17Z")
> [@nion](#): > > My understanding is flooding is practically never covered by insurance. You have to specifically buy flood insurance for that. That’s the right answer, and I think the claim handler interpreted the flood exclusion wrong. Contrary to reason “Flood” does not just mean, “The existing nearby body of water got all crazy and damaged your stuff.” I can totally see not wanting to cover someone’s stuff when they build right next to a river–a floodplain is just a dumb place to put your house. But if you do build there, you (should) know to buy a FEMA flood insurance policy. Unfortunately, the real definition of “Flood” is water that is on the ground that damages your stuff. An example is: rain blowing through an open window = covered, rain flowing along the ground into a basement window = flood, not covered. This is a real bitch sometimes, especially when (as happened recently in Colorado Springs) you live on a hillside where there is zero chance of a flood and a wildfire burns off all the ground cover. Rains come, flash flood happens and your house washed away. You can try saying the proximate cause was the fire that removed the ground cover that allowed the flash flood, but good luck with that. That said, rain damage caused by leaking roofs is covered all the time. Not only to structures, but interior contents as well. That denial is certainly curious. OP: Go with whoever insures your car. Most places offer a multi-line discount if they get to write both. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-company-for-renters-insurance/396063/17 "2013-07-17T20:43:41Z")
> [@nion](#): > > My understanding is flooding is practically never covered by insurance. You have to specifically buy flood insurance for that. And in California, earthquake insurance also is an add-on. I’ve been with State Farm for decades. I have no idea how good they are, as I’ve never needed to file a claim. Maybe I’m safe and covered, or maybe I’m living in a fool’s paradise. (No, in the interest of science, I am not going to have an accident!)